Wednesday, November 4, 2015

IWSG-November: Holding Steady

The Insecure Writers Support Group meets online every first Wednesday of the month. Founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG was created to support and encourage all writers in every phaseof their work, from writing to marketing. Click hereto join, and for information, writing tips, and more.

Co-hosts for November areStephen Tremp,Karen Walker,Denise Covey, and Tyrean Martinson!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm holding steady, awaiting replies on my novel, and darn it, I am getting the standard form letter reject from agents, but not all have been negative. For instance, one was interested in "future projects." Now that's motivation to finish all those projects I've started. I'm currently working on two--one fiction, one nonfiction.

I must say that all replies have been polite, which I appreciate a lot. One benefit of email correspondence is that agents (and publishers) can spend time writing the nicest reject ever. Seriously, I have been impressed. Years back I remember when the standard postcard reply was one of several boxes checked. It was impersonal and discouraging.

So . . . here's another perspective:

A huge distraction to all this has been Fall gardening. With over half an acre, we have a lot of bare land yet to fill. Off the top of my head, I've planted somewhere around 25 shrubs starting in October. I'm going to take credit for doing most of the work too! My husband has had a full plate this past month, but I don't mind. Gardening has always been a creative outlet for me. A garden grows one plant at a time, in much the same way the plot (the soil) and characters (the plants) of a story grow. Some fail and some perform in extraordinary ways. All it takes is water, TLC, fertilizer and time.

22 comments:

I remember those post cards with the one or two boxes checked. So glad responses have been encouraging, even for rejections. ...is it possible they're viewing you as a potential series author? Fingers crossed for you at any rate! (I love the garden simile.)

Thank you! You know, I'm not really discouraged yet by the process. I'm just excited to be living my dream of being a writer. I can't wait to finish my next book. Now that I've completed one, I know I can do so again. Something happened to me the day I finally wrote "The End."

Of course, the email rejects are equally as impersonal, as they're standard "copy and paste" responses. But you're right, they have taken the time to think up something nice, which they say to all of the thousands of queries they reject.

Still hoping there's a "yes," out there for you. That's all it takes. One yes.

So sorry about all the rejections so far. Polite or not, those are never fun to receive! (They never were for me, anyway. LOL.) And wow, you're not kidding about having a lot of bare land to fill. Best of luck with all your gardening!

Just remember that in order to get rejections you have to be brave and determined enough to have finished a project, written a query, researched agents, and hit "send." Many never do that, so YAY for all that you've accomplished so far. :)

What a great way to view writing...like gardening. Fertilizer is always needed even if, at times, we don't want it. You are doing great, I think, because you finished a book and now must wait. How many have not even started? You are closer than you were yesterday